What Does Angelina Jolie's Mastectomy Have to Do With You?

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Manda

The short answer: nothing. Ever since Jolie revealed in a New York Times op-ed on May 14 that she had chosen to have a preventative double mastectomy because she is a carrier of the BRCA1 gene, doctors and researchers have been practically jumping up and down in an attempt to get people to understand that this is not the course of action advisable for most women. Yet, here we are, looking at the most beautiful woman in the world, who is also smart, rich, and dazzling, and we’re thinking, “Really?” Even as you read this, you’re doubting those doctors, you’re wondering if it’s a money thing, perhaps you’re thinking, “But my mother had cancer,” or even, “My Aunt has the BRCA mutation, and thus this advice doesn’t mean me.”

The research, though, is clear on one thing: breast cancer is confusing, and what’s “right” for one woman is totally different for another. “Women without the BRCA mutation who are relatives to women who do have it were at no significantly greater risk of breast cancer than the general population,” says the May 27, 2013 Time magazine in reference to a recent study. In the U.S., doctors would consider you a good candidate for genetic testing if you have a close relative who has tested positive for a BRCA mutation. Even then, however, the course of action is complicated. If you’re a woman with the same genetic predisposition as Jolie, but you live in Paris, you almost certainly won’t be offered a preventative mastectomy. If you’re the same woman in North Europe, you most likely will. In neither case would you be “wrong.”

So, let me say it again, Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy doesn’t mean you should get a double mastectomy or that you should even get tested for BRCA gene mutations. As she notes in her article: “only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation.” Only 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers have anything to do with inherited genetics.

If it isn’t inherited gene mutations causing most breast cancer, what is it? It’s no one thing, but in most women it’s a combination of environmental factors, overall health, genetic damage, and genes. All of these things can be influenced, sometimes quite significantly, by lifestyle choices.

There are TWO BIG ways in which Angelina Jolie’s breast cancer scare does have to do with you:

Your access to testing and cures is under threat. The access to the genetic testing that Angelina Jolie used (and research related to cures) is currently in danger because one company, Myriad, owns the patent on the BRCA genes and therefore has a monopoly on all the research related to them. Does it seem insane that a company can patent a gene? (Does this mean that we might have to pay the company royalties for using our own genes just because we’re living?) It all seems like a weird, dark sci-fi movie. The American Civil Liberties Union has a case before the Supreme Court trying to ensure a future where we can have access to breast cancer research and testing, but the outcome is still pending.

You are more likely to get breast cancer because of an array of “environmental” and other life factors — a lot more likely — than because of your genes. Thus, you can do thingsto give yourself your best chance at breast health. Angelina Jolie chose a mastectomy because of her unique situation. This was how she best felt she could take back the power of health. If you don’t have the same strong genetic predisposition towards breast cancer (and even if you do) there are other ways to take back some sense of power as well. The first is to recognize that being a woman in today’s increasingly toxic world puts us at an increased risk of breast cancer, by no fault of our own. Toxins love to hang out in our breast tissue, and many of them stay in there for a lifetime, or until we get pregnant and pass part of our toxic burden onto our children. Thankfully, there are numerous doctors, friends, and researchers who are sharing ways we can improve our chances for health and survival through knowledge and lifestyle choices.

Stop smoking, drinking in excess, and charring your meats because all have been linked to increases in breast cancer.

Avoid hormone therapies if possible.

Know your alternatives for breast cancer screening.

Reduce your stress. Increase your sleep.

Exercise.

Breastfeed! The longer you breastfeed, the more you reduce your risk of breast cancer.

Consider the woo-woo. Though the science isn’t as clear, some doctors believe that limiting exposure to electro magnetic radiation, such as from cellphones and laptop computers, may improve breast health. Similarly, spending less time in bras, especially tight ones, might help as well.

AMG/Parade Digital

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